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2014 NFL Draft grades: Jacksonville Jaguars select Blake Bortles

By Andrew Melnick

May 8, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Blake Bortles (Central Florida) is introduced to the stage before the 2014 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
May 8, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Blake Bortles (Central Florida) is introduced to the stage before the 2014 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 8, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Blake Bortles (Central Florida) is introduced to the stage before the 2014 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
May 8, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Blake Bortles (Central Florida) is introduced to the stage before the 2014 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /

The Jacksonville Jaguars entered Thursday night’s NFL Draft with needs across the board.

During the 2013 Draft, they addressed one of their biggest areas of concern by selecting former Texas A&M Aggies’ Luke Joeckel.

This year, many expected the Jaguars to go with former Clemson Tigers’ wide receiver Sammy Watkins to help take their offense to another level.

The Jaguars did indeed go with an offensive player, but not a receiver. Instead, they surprised many by selecting former Central Florida Knights’ quarterback Blake Bortles. At 6’4 and 230 pounds, Bortles fits the mold of a prototype pocket passer. He had an excellent junior season, completing 259 of 382 passes for for 3,581 yards with 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Although there are no players the caliber of Andrew Luck on the board, the Jaguars are in obvious need of a quarterback, planning on entering the season with Chad Henne as their starter. Some believe the Jaguars could be a little skeptical about selecting a quarterback after the disaster that their 2011 first round pick, Blaine Gabbert, was, but that was clearly not the case.

Henne will likely enter the season as the Jaguars’ starter again in an effort to help develop Bortles and potentially protect him because of the Jaguars’ lack of weapons on offense.

It has been proven that teams have get their quarterback through the draft and if you are truly in love with a quarterback prospect, you take him as soon as you can, which is exactly what the Jaguars did.

Grade: B+

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